Lessons unlearnt: Drama around the women’s wrestling trials shows sport is yet to clean up its act
Indian wrestling has ensured that the drama off the mat overshadows the drama on it.
This article originally appeared in The Field’s newsletter, Game Points, on March 13, 2024. Sign up here to get the newsletter directly delivered to your inbox every week.
On the weekend, trials were held to select the Indian squad for the 2024 Asian Wrestling Championships and the Olympic qualifiers, both of which will be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in April. As expected of the sport in India these days, the trials were not held without its fair share of bickering.
Even before the first match could start, there were concerns about the legitimacy of the trials themselves.
The Wrestling Federation of India, which had been de-recognised by both the Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association, issued a circular announcing it would be holding trials for the two wrestling competitions.
However, the Delhi High Court, in response to a plea filed by wrestler Bajrang Punia, ruled that the wrestling association could not organise the trials. Instead, an Indian Olympic Association-appointed ad-hoc committee was tasked with arranging the selection.
But in another twist, United World Wrestling – the global body that governs the sport – said that only the Wrestling Federation of India would be allowed to name a team for international competitions. Eventually, the Indian wrestling federation...
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